Day 15 Twillingate

Writing a blog on our travels is something I do for me. There is no other purpose. I have discovered that it enhances my enjoyment significantly to reflect on my day. David says I enjoy any holiday adventure three times – as I look forward to it, when it’s happening, and in the retelling! I just know that as I think ahead to how I will describe something in my evening writing, it intensifies the experience by making me more acutely aware of details. Now as a bonus, we have a great log of our vacation that I can revisit at any time. David routinely forgets where a picture was taken and he often checks in on the blog to determine the specifics of a shot. We have friends who have used past blogs as a travel guide when they took similar trips. The most surprising result of my blogging though is the following that it generates! As I said, none of these are the reasons I do it, but I do think it’s pretty cool that I have a readership! Very few people post comments to my blog (which I do have to admit is a bit of a disappointment – it really is nice to know you’re there!) but the host site does create statistics, and I am shocked at how many people check on our travels! I also know because for a few days I didn’t post!

I write at the end of every day. I want my posts to be a reflection of my immediate reactions to experiences and I also want the writing to be an accurate account of our days. Given my memory, if I don’t write as it happens, many details would just be lost. I keep a notebook in my backpack and jot ideas as we go – just words or phrases to jog my memory. At the end of each day I get out my computer, download my pictures and write, as David does backups and downloads of his masterpieces!

While the writing is done each day without fail, the posting sometimes doesn’t happen. I try, but imaging pictures for posting takes a lot of time, and placement to the blog site can be difficult depending on how good our internet connection is! For our last couple of days in Gros Morne our days were long and very full. I arrived back with barely enough energy for the blog. Waiting the required time to post to the site just wasn’t happening! I received complaints!! I had emails asking if we were alright. I had some people text and email direct requests to get on with the blog, they were “missing the holiday”. I had some lovely messages complimenting my writing, but given the timing I wonder if they were not also thinly veiled prompts to “get back to it”!! Little communication for two weeks, I miss two days of posts and my email box fills. I was THRILLED! I write for me, but I am happy others enjoy it too!

Leaving Gros Morne today I was a little concerned that I may not have as much to write about! After all, how can you top some of what we saw and did? David laughed at me and reminded me that I say that about every place we go! The route to get to Twillingate was very straightforward. The highway though is no better the further we move across the island. Poor David lost a part of a crown today and the joke was, no small wonder! Travelling over these potholes is enough to loosen your dental work for sure!

It really is amazing how childhood memories resurface. I often can’t remember why I went upstairs by the time I get there, but today I fell asleep in the truck as we were travelling and when I woke up I knew exactly where we were. I recognized the wooded terrain surrounding the town where I lived until I was six! Now I had been back for holidays as an older kid since my grandparents continued to live there, but I certainly hadn’t been there in 30 years! The minute I opened my eyes and looked around I knew we were close to Buchans. Buchans isn’t on the TCH but Badger is the town on the highway where you would turn for the ride down there. I immediately had vivid memories of camping as a kid, visiting Red Indian Lake … I just knew where I was! I barely had enough time to tell David my thoughts and the sign announcing Badger appeared. Incredible how the mind works. Now if only I could remember where I put my glasses!!

Travelling into the little fishing villages on the way to Twillingate was like a promise of good days ahead. We refused to stop because the roads are narrow and we aren’t really maneuverable with the trailer, but we were so very tempted to take the time, even before we dropped the trailer, to appreciate the beautiful views.

Arriving at Peyton’s RV Park on the tip of Twillingate, we realized we could leave the truck attached to the trailer and walk around here for a week and not run out of things to see! We won’t, but we could! The man who owns the campground just moved back to Newfoundland from Ontario. Having been away for 50 years, he never got over missing it! He originally came from Corner Brook but always loved Twillingate so, here he is! I certainly understand how Newfoundland never leaves your soul! We have a wonderful life and a beautiful family and friends in Ontario now. I could never leave them, and am truly content with the life we’ve made. Being back here though, wandering along a rocky shore, I feel like a little piece of me that I wasn’t even fully aware was missing, has settled back in place!

We wandered around the area by the trailer and David managed to take 55 pictures! We came back because we needed a few groceries and wanted to check on a few things we had hoped to do while we were here. Our experience in Gros Morne taught us that early reservations are a good idea! The local Foodland provided the groceries we needed, including Newfie music piped through the store and outside in the parking lot to make shopping a lot more fun. We also almost lost the truck in a pothole in the parking lot, but we’re getting used to that! The reservations were all kindly looked after by the nice man at the campground, leaving time for me to head down to the beach for sunset!

I wandered down alone and walked along the beach to a secluded spot. In truth the only other souls anywhere near were “Nan and Billy” who chatted with me (about what else but the fine weather) as I passed. Billy was about five and under his grandmother’s watchful eye, played at the edge of the ocean. Long before the sun went down over the water, Nan took Billy’s hand and led him up to the truck and undoubtedly home to bed, leaving me with an entire piece of coastline to myself to appreciate the magnificent sunset! An entire section of coastline for a far as I could see in either direction, just for me!

I sat on a large rock in a little cove and listened to the rhythm of the ocean as it lapped in over the rocks and scraped its retreat in a pattern as old a time itself. People come, people go, and sometimes people come back, but the ocean continues its timeless cadence. The sun sets on the ocean in a dance of sparkles. It also set this evening on one very content and grateful girl!

Wandering back up the beach I watched the men, from the boats I had seen come in earlier, cleaning their catch and offering the unwanted scraps back to the sea as a feast for the waiting gulls! The moon, now visible over the brightly coloured houses, again speaks to the regularity and timelessness of life here. Things happen here very much as they have for countless years. The fishery certainly will never be as prosperous as it once was. Satellite dishes that peek around the edge of those brightly coloured houses speak of connections to the outside world. Yet, there is a timeless quality to life here that is incredibly comforting. Certainly loads to be said for salt water joys!

Out our back window, complete with two large, and very curious rabbits.

Steps from our door!

Love the bench quote!

Colour fishing huts

Home clinging to rock

Sunset

Life in the outpports

Moon rising over the hill

Such colourful houses - completely charming

Lawn chairs and a dory, what every yard needs



Not saying there's been a lot of rain, but these mushrooms are growing in our lawn!